The Cycling Podcast

In our first episode of 2022 we meet the World Tour's youngest rider, Cian Uijtdebroeks. The 18-year-old Belgian has signed for Bora-Hansgrohe and will make his professional debut in Mallorca at the end of the month.  Already dubbed “the next Remco,” Uijtdebroeks came to wide attention when he won the junior edition of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in 2020 with a 50km solo breakaway.  But who is he, and how does an 18-year-old deal with the expectation and hype that comes with being a talented young rider in Belgium? Before Christmas, Richard went to meet him at the Uijtdebroeks family home close to the border between Flanders and Wallonia. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. The Cycling Podcast is on Strava Friends of the Podcast Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to more than 60 exclusive episodes including the Christmas Selection Box collection.

Merry Christmas from Richard, Daniel, Lionel and everyone at The Cycling Podcast. Cast your mind back to the summer's three grand tours in this mini episode. We'll be back in mid-January to see what the 2022 season has in store. In the meantime, Friends of the Podcast subscribers can listen to our Christmas Selection Box, starting on Christmas Day. We'll release seven episodes over the festive season starting with a love letter to cycling magazines. A Friends of the Podcast subscription is £20 (approx $26US, €27 or $37 AUS) for a year's access. There are currently more than 50 episodes to listen to straight away. Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com Existing Friends of the Podcast will have their subscriptions renewed automatically (unless that option has been disabled). To check your subscription status login to your account. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

Welcome to The Cesares, also known as The Moonies, or to put it more simply The Cycling Podcast's alternative awards 2021. Our virtual ceremony hosted by Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe has none of the glitz or glamour of The Oscars or, indeed, any of the world's well-known awards nights. But it can only be a matter of time before The Cesares, or The Moonies, or whatever we're calling it is, matches the same prestige as the Velo d'Or or the Flandrien of the Year prize. So, without further ado, let's reach for The Cycling Podcast's pile of brown envelopes to see who the lucky winners are this year. Which race will claim the Definitely Not Flèche Wallonne Race of the Year prize? Who is in line for the Sex and the City Comeback of the Year gong? Who can stand in the way of Primož Roglič and the Primož Roglič Defeat from the Jaws of Victory award? Drum roll, please... let's welcome to the stage, in a virtual tuxedo and bow tie, your host Richard Moore... The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Hammerhead. The Hammerhead Karoo 2 is a next-generation cycling computer that brings the power of advanced GPS navigation and intuitive software right to your handlebars. For a limited time, Hammerhead has an incredible deal - buy a Karoo 2 at hammerhead.io/trade and get up to $170 (£125) back when you trade in your current cycling computer. This offer expires on January 6.

Explore usually takes riders a little further afield than just a few kilometres from their home but in this episode Lionel Birnie sets out on his familiar festive route in the eastern edge of the Chilterns. On the route are 12 hills and so this is the 12 hills of Christmas, a 90-kilometre route peppered with short climbs. While Christmas is a time for celebrations, lightheartedness and joy it's also a time for reflection on the year almost passed. Regular listeners will know Lionel missed a big chunk of the season and cancelled his Tour d'Écosse series for Explore at very short notice. While the roads may be reassuringly familiar, he also takes the time to explore less comfortable territory as he talks about his mental health and what happened this year. GPX file: If you want to ride The 12 hills of Christmas route, you can download the GPX file from Dropbox here. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

In this press conference episode of Service Course, Tom Whalley and Lizzy Banks open the floor to your questions. We discuss whether time is up for the front derailleur thanks to Classified's revolutionary two-speed hub, we try to unmuddy the waters when it comes to picking that perfect winter tyre and Richard from France asks Tom and Lizzy to describe their dream builds. Finally, we talk about increasing the accessibility of cycling and hear from the creator of The School of Rocks, Eleanor Jaskowska, about how to build your confidence and develop a skillset for off-road riding. Her partner, Liam Glen, winner of the Highland Trail 550 also tells us about building a race winning bike on a budget and making your own bike packing bags. Service Course by The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by LinkedIn Jobs. Recruit the right person for your organisation. Go to linkedin.com/cycle This episode is also sponsored by NordVPN, which offers you security online whenever you connect to the internet. Get NordVPN's Cyber Month Deal today. Go to nordvpn.com/tcp or use code tcp to get up to 73% off your NordVPN Plan + a bonus gift

In this week's episode, it's over to you, our listeners, to ask the questions of Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe. Is Patrick Lefevere's belief in Remco Evenepoel misplaced? Is it right for the whole cycling circus to fly to Australia for the World Championships considering the environmental impact? How have the peloton and the press room changed since we started The Cycling Podcast in 2013? Are the crowds at the Tour of Britain bigger than at the Dauphiné? Which race route would make the best one-day Classic? Can anyone win the triple crown again? And more... The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also sponsored by Shipstation. If you sell online and need to despatch orders easily, go to Shipstation.com and use the code CYCLING for a 60-day trial.

Our review of the 2021 men's road racing season continues with a deep look at the three grand tours. Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe weigh up the era of the galacticos in a year when the three outstanding stage racers – Egan Bernal, Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič – each won a grand tour. Transport yourself back to Italy, France and Spain with our greatest hits compilations, a selection of audio highlights from our travels this year, before we discuss each of the races in turn. We look back at the best days of racing, ask whether the Vuelta really is overtaking the Giro as the 'second' grand tour, revisit Mark Cavendish's record-equalling stage wins at the Tour and ask which of Bernal and Roglic is best placed to challenge Pogačar next season. We hear from Joe Dombrowski, Pavel Sivakov and Jonathan Vaughters on the Pog-nomenon and ask what threats there are to his dominance. And we speak to Toms Skujiņš about arguably the best day's racing from the grand tours – or at least the day which provided the least expected thrills. The Giro d'Italia – 12 minutes 28 seconds The Tour de France – 37 minutes 49 seconds Vuelta a España – 1 hour 36 minutes 27 seconds The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com The article by Nick Busca featuring Supersapiens founder Phil Southerland referenced in this episode can be found here. For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported by Beer52. To get ten free craft beers delivered to your door, order by December 17 at https://www.beer52.com/cycle

The final episode of The Cycling Podcast Féminin of 2021 is one of two halves. In the first, Lizzy Banks and Richard Moore argue over who should win our end-of-year awards, and Lizzy tells us all about her new team, EF Education-Tibco-SVB. In the second, Orla Chennaoui is interviewed by one of our listeners, Jack Mckillop, about the origins and first five years of The Cycling Podcast Féminin. The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Hammerhead. The Hammerhead Karoo 2 is a next-generation cycling computer that brings the power of advanced GPS navigation and intuitive software right to your handlebars. For a limited time, Hammerhead has an incredible deal - buy a Karoo 2 at hammerhead.io/trade and get up to $170 back when you trade in your current cycling computer. This episode is also sponsored by Calm, the #1 mental wellness app. If you go to calm.com/CYCLE, you'll get a limited time offer of 40% off a Calm Premium Subscription, which includes hundreds of hours of programming.

In the second part of our look back at the one-day races of 2021, we pick up the story by asking whether Peter Sagan can return to his best to challenge the current crop of Galácticos. We hear from Jonathan Vaughters about the ways racing has changed and why a 'boring' race to watch does not mean an easy race to ride. Toms Skujiņš of Trek-Segafredo tells us which of the current riders are most likely to win all five one-day Monuments in their career. And we hear from Ineos Grenadiers rider Tom Pidcock, who was the breakthrough rider of the spring. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com The article by Nick Busca featuring Supersapiens founder Phil Southerland referenced in this episode can be found here. For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported by Noom. If you'd like to lose weight in a carefully-managed, sustainable way, go to Noom.com/cycle

In the first part of our look back at the 2021 road racing season, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discussed the cobbled Classics. The Latin title of our series, Annus galaxicus, was Daniel's idea, naturally, and it refers to Julian Alaphilippe, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, who looked set to dominate the one-day races. However, while all of them had outstanding moments, none of them managed to win one of the five Monuments. We ask why. And what was the outstanding Classic performance of the year? Tadej Pogacar's sports director Allan Peiper didn't hesitate when we asked him the question. We also hear from Tour of Flanders winner Kasper Asgreen and Lionel designs his five-course Monuments meal. Next week, we'll move on the Ardennes Classics and other eyecatching one-day races as well as ask whether any of the current generation of stellar stars can complete the career grand slam by winning all five Monuments. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported by Beer52, who are offering ten free craft beers (that's two more than usual) for just the price of postage if you order before December 17. Go to beer52.com/cycle

In this fourth and final episode in our mini-series of Explore we look at the  gravel scene. Gravel at a crossroads is partly inspired by some of the reaction to our feature on the so-called "first professional gravel race" in Veneto in episode one. Some took exception to the description, with one listener advising us that if we want to talk about gravel we should speak to some Americans! So we have. In this episode we hear from Caley Fretz, editor of Cycling Tips and "groad" pioneer, and Ian Boswell, the former World Tour pro who won Unbound, arguably the world's biggest gravel race, this year. We also speak to two riders at a crossroads in their careers: Tiffany Cromwell, who is combining Women's World Tour racing with gravel races, and Finley Newmark, a promising young rider who is turning full-time to gravel in 2022.  The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported by Babbel. If you want to learn a new language get six months free with the purchase of a six-month subscription with the promo code CYCLING at uk.babbel.com/play

In this episode of Service Course, Tom Whalley looks back on the fixed gear phenomenon, which peaked around a decade ago, and asks what happened to fixie culture. He speaks with Max Leonard, co-author of Fixed, former bike messenger Emily Chappell, and Tibco-SVB's Tanja Erath. Tanja came into pro-cycling through the Zwift academy, but before that she started making waves racing in fixed gear criteriums, notably the much missed Red Hook series. Tanja talks about the benefits of riding fixed and how she hopes to be able to ride fixie crits as part of next year's race calendar. Service Course by The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by LinkedIn Jobs. Recruit the right person for your organisation. Go to linkedin.com/cycle

This week's episode comes from the Six Days of Ghent, which is back this week after a year's absence.  Richard Moore and Lionel Birnie report from a familiarly busy and raucous 't Kuipke on the opening night and speak to some of the star names, including Olympic Madison champion Michael Mørkøv and local favourite Iljo Keisse.  We also hear from Maikel Zijlaard, riding his first senior Ghent Six and remembering his grandfather, who was one of track cycling's legendary derny riders. The director of the race, Christophe Sercu – son of the late Patrick – also tells us about this year's race and his hopes for six day racing.  The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Hammerhead. The Hammerhead Karoo 2 is a next-generation cycling computer that brings the power of advanced GPS navigation and intuitive software right to your handlebars. For a limited time, Hammerhead has an incredible deal - buy a Karoo 2 at hammerhead.io/trade and get up to $170 back when you trade in your current cycling computer.

For this episode of Explore one of our audio producers, Adam Bowie, takes over on the mic as he sets off to ride the King Alfred's Way in the south west of England. The 350-kilometre circular, mostly off-road, bikepacking route features a mix of gravel tracks, woodland trails, canal towpaths and rural lanes as it takes in parts of the Ridgeway, South Downs Way, Shipwrights Way and Sussex Border Path. The route is named after Alfred the Great, who ruled the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex in the ninth century. The route passes King Alfred's statue in Winchester, where he is buried. This is not just a multi-day bikepacking adventure. Adam had a specific reason for undertaking the trip, because it marked an important point in an inspirational and transformative journey he'd been on over the course of more than a year as the country locked down during the pandemic. Find out more about King Alfred's Way here. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported by Babbel. If you want to learn a new language get six months free with the purchase of a six-month subscription with the promo code CYCLING at uk.babbel.com/play And by Beer52, who are offering ten free craft beers (that's two more than usual) for just the price of postage if you order before December 17. Go to beer52.com/cycle

In this episode Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss the final unveiling of the 2022 Giro d'Italia route. The Giro stages have been revealed bit by bit this time in batches, rather than chronologically. Has this robbed the Giro route of some of its mystery and majesty or does it not really matter? And what are the other terrible innovations in recent grand tour history? It's track season, cyclo-cross season and silly season. We discuss the controversy of riders taking part in events on their new team's bikes before their contracts have expired in the light of EF Education First's threat to terminate Sergio Higuita and Lawson Craddock's contracts for doing just that. We ask whether Adam Yates's Barcelona marathon time was impressive for a professional cyclist.  Richard's show and tell segment discusses a new show on GCN featuring EF Education First sports director Tom Southam teaching a bunch of fourth-category riders how to ride as a team, and we hear from Southam himself. And in the final part we speak to Tony Hoffa, a Friend of the Podcast who has recently secured a job in the World Tour with Team DSM as a mechanic – a move which came about after he listened to our Friends of the Podcast special episode A Team Apart. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Calm, the #1 mental wellness app, to give you the tools that improve the way you feel. If you go to calm.com/CYCLE, you'll get a limited time offer of 40% off a Calm Premium Subscription, which includes hundreds of hours of programming.

In the latest episode of Explore we hear Mark Beaumont's audio diary from GBDuro, the on- and off-road race the length of Britain, from Land's End to John o' Groats. Amazingly this was Mark's first ever organised race — though GBDuro is not a race in the traditional sense. Or perhaps it is? As well as being a test of endurance, it is an event that seeks to put cycle racing back in touch with its roots. With four ultra long stages, and with the riders unsupported and self sufficient, it arguably has more in common with the early Tours de France than the modern incarnation. As well as Mark — who told us all about his round the world record in our first ever episode of Explore — we hear from some of the other competitors. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also sponsored by NordVPN, which offers you security online whenever you connect to the internet. Get NordVPN's Cyber Month Deal today. Go to nordvpn.com/tcp or use code tcp to get up to 73% off your NordVPN Plan + a bonus gift

In this month's episode of The Cycling Podcast Féminin Orla Chennaoui and Richard Moore are joined by Lizzy Banks to discuss the British national championships and the Ronde van Drenthe, and we hear from Susanne Andersen who is leaving Team DSM to join Uno-X. We also look back on the first women's Paris-Roubaix and ahead to next year's inaugural Tour de France Femmes.  The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport.  Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is supported by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. And you can post a job for free, go to: LinkedIn.com/CYCLE  This episode is also supported by Noom, a psychology-based approach to getting people on track to eating healthier. Instead of setting a strict set of rules, Noom empowers you with the knowledge and psychology to build smarter, more sustainable habits and behaviours. To start your free trial, to go: Noom.com/CYCLE

In this week's episode Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss Alex Dowsett's Hour record attempt. Dowsett held the record back in 2015, before Bradley Wiggins broke it, and he aimed to win it back from the current holder Victor Campenaerts in Mexico this week. He fell just short but he won a lot of admirers for raising awareness of haemophilia, a condition he has overcome to reach the top of his sport, and for putting together the team for his record attempt himself. What does his near-miss mean for the record and who will go for it next? In part two, we talk about the 2022 Giro d'Italia grande partenza in Hungary. Postponed from 2020 because of the pandemic, Budapest will finally host the start of the Giro next May and the three stages unveiled this week by the organisers look more promising than the original plans. With the Giro route being unveiled bit-by-bit over the course of a week has the race lost something without a 'big reveal'? And what else might Italy's grand tour have in store? Finally, Lionel talks about his weekend trip to Belgium to see the Koppenbergcross. We hear from 'cross legend Sven Nys to take the current temperature of the scene and the possibility of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert returning later in the season. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Beer52. For a free case of eight* Craft Beers from Beer52 go to www.beer52.com/Cycle – all you have to do is cover the postage costs of £5.95. *Order now and get two additional free beers, making 10 in total.

Explore returns for a mini series this month and in this opening episode we cover the pavé and gravel experiencing the old and new of road racing. The day before the women's Paris-Roubaix, Richard Moore and Lionel Birnie, joined by Simon Gill, sampled some of the sectors. Lionel once rode the full 260-kilometre Paris-Roubaix cyclo-sportive but Richard had never ridden on the cobblestones of north-eastern France and was in for a shock. Then Richard headed to Veneto in northern Italy for a week of racing and riding put together by former Milan-Sanremo winner and Italian champion Filippo Pozzato. As well as a series of one-day races, there was a Granfondo, which Richard rode, and the first edition of the Serenissima gravel race, which was won by Alexey Lutsenko. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by the Hammerhead Karoo 2. For a limited time, our listeners can get a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Karoo 2. Visit hammerhead.io right now and use promo code CYCLE at checkout to get yours today.

In this episode, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss some of the latest stories from the world of professional cycling. After saving the team at the last minute a year ago, is this the end of the road for the Qhubeka-NextHash World Tour team? What's behind the latest shake-up at Movistar, and does Tiesj Benoot really want out of Team DSM? And if he leaves, where might he end up? 
In part two, we discuss Ineos Grenadiers. Geraint Thomas appears to be staying for another year, there are changes in the coaching and management department with Tim Kerrison leaving after 12 years and Roger Hammond considering an offer to join. And could one of the team's brightest young stars be lured away by another team? Finally, we discuss two doping stories. We'll try to make sense of the WADA report into British Cycling running a private testing programme for nandrolone a decade ago in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics, and get to the bottom of the substance found in some Bahrain-Victorious riders' hair samples. Plus, which men's World Tour rider had the most race days in 2021 – and how far towards the moon would that have taken him? The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by NordVPN. Get up to 73% off a two-year plan: go to NordVPN.com/TCP

This is a trailer for a new episode available to Friends of the Podcast. The latest in our series featuring The Cycling Podcast's hosts features Lionel Birnie facing the questions from Orla Chennaoui. Lionel talks about his route into cycling journalism, from a childhood spent making football magazines to learning the ropes at his local newspaper. To sign up as a Friend of the Podcast go to thecyclingpodcast.com.  There are currently almost 50 episodes available to Friends of the Podcast subscribers.

In this episode of Service Course, Lizzy and Tom speak to two holders of prestigious cycling world records. First up is Ashton Lambie, who at the time of recording is the current holder of the individual pursuit world record, and the first person to go under four minutes in that event. Ashton talks about living in an RV, not wanting to ride for a road team, bench pressing over 300lbs, coffee, bikes, and what to watch on Netflix. Next is Joss Lowden, the new hour record holder. Lizzy caught up with her at the British National Championships, she tells us that she actually broke that record riding one of Ashton's old frames. Finally Tom chats to Anna Lawson, an ironman athlete, about the weird world of bikes used in those competitions, but more importantly her ride to COP26 in Glasgow and the ways that cycling can have a positive impact on climate change. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by NordVPN. Get up to 73% off a two-year plan: go to NordVPN.com/TCP And by LinkedIn Jobs. Recruit the right person for your organisation. Go to linkedin.com/cycle

So, this is it, retirement. Or, to put it another way, the longest off-season of my life. I've ridden my final race and in a few short weeks I will be officially retired from the professional peloton. When I made the decision that this would be my final season as a rider, I wanted to prepare myself for what comes next. And so, over the course of the year, as my mindset has changed and I've got closer to my final race, I spoke to some friends and former teammates about what to expect. In this episode, I speak to eight people who have all adjusted to retirement – some very recently, such as Tejay van Garderen, some longer ago like David Millar. Brett Lancaster, Andreas Klier and Robert Wagner have all stayed in the sport in some way, whereas Dom Rollin has gone in a completely different direction. I also speak to Grace Elvin and my good buddy Svein Tuft about the ups and downs of no longer being a pro athlete. What's it like to no longer be the best at something? How do we adjust to regular life? What can those who have gone before me tell me that can help me prepare for my own retirement? This is the final episode of Life in the Peloton for 2021. I hope you've enjoyed our season of shows. Thank you for all your support and kind comments and I'll see you on the road. I'm really looking forward to finding out what life outside the peloton has in store... Cheers, Mitch Life in the Peloton playlist Keep in touch with Life in the Peloton Keep up to date with everything that's going on with Life in the Peloton at my website lifeinthepeloton.com Life in the Peloton shop Check out my range of Life in the Peloton merchandise on our Etsy store too, from beanies and caps to embroidered tees, logo tees and much more. Visit the Etsy store. Or follow on social media: Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton Twitter: @lifeinthepelo Theme music The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4's coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show. Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete's widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton.

Richard Moore has been in the Veneto region of northern Italy experiencing the rebirth of racing in an area that is rich in cycling heritage. Richard joins Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe to talk about the week's racing and riding. Filippo Pozzato, former Milan-Sanremo winner and Italian national champion, has created a new one-day race in his own image. The Giro del Veneto, first held in the 1920s but absent from the calendar for more than a decade, has returned and has been joined by the Veneto Classic and a gravel one-day race, the Serenissima. The Veneto region is also home to some of Italian cycling's most storied manufacturers, including Campagnolo and Sidi. But how does a new race fit into an already crowded Italian race calendar, what is the true potential for gravel racing, and what does it say about the current state of the sport in Italy? The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Calm, the #1 mental wellness app, to give you the tools that improve the way you feel. If you go to calm.com/CYCLE, you'll get a limited time offer of 40% off a Calm Premium Subscription, which includes hundreds of hours of programming.

The routes for the 2022 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes were revealed in Paris so now the riders know what awaits them next July. The 109th edition of the men's Tour will start on Friday, July 1 with a time trial in Copenhagen, followed by two stages in Denmark before a transfer back to France where the cobbles of the Hell of the North await. The serious climbing starts with La Super Planche des Belles Filles before Alpe d'Huez returns for the first time since 2018. The Tour will visit Hautacam in the Pyrenees before a time trial at Rocamadour. The first edition of the Tour de France Femmes will kick off with a stage in Paris on the same day the men's Tour reaches the Champs-Élysées. Over the course of eight stages, the women will tackle gravel and climbs before the yellow jersey is decided on La Super Planche des Belles Filles. Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe dissect the routes, assess some of the culinary highlights and ask whether the sprinters will be forced to look elsewhere for opportunities. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com  For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Noom, the psychology-based approach to getting people on track to eating healthier. Sign up for a trial and get psychology-based support to lose the weight for good at noom.com/cycle 

In the first of two episodes this week, Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe discuss Tadej Pogacar's victory at Il Lombardia, the fifth and final Monument of the season. There's also all the most recent cycling news, including Arnaud Demare's win at the end of a thrilling Paris-Tours, the latest transfers and the appointment of Marion Rousse as the director of the new Tour de France Femmes, which is launching in 2022. The podcast will return with Lionel Birnie later in the week to discuss the 2022 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes routes, which will be unveiled on Thursday. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

That's a wrap from the 2021 Women's Tour. Join Rose Manley, Lionel Birnie and Lizzy Banks as they witness the conclusion of the final stage – the longest of the race – to Felixstowe. The sun was shining, the crowds were cheering and although there wasn't a drop of rain in the air in the finishing straight the rainbow shone too. Elisa Balsamo, the recently-crowned world champion, finally grabbed a stage win for her Valcar team after going so close yesterday. We hear the reaction from Balsamo and her teammates. Lizzy's recon included a trip on a ferry, we wrap up the stories from the day's breakaway and the crash which marred the run-in before focussing on overall winner Demi Vollering. We hear from her SD Worx sports director Danny Stam. We also reveal who has won the Pédaleuse de Charme and Stacy Snyder's beautiful hand-made cup and hear from Trixi  Worrack, who brought down the curtain on a long career today. We hope you have enjoyed this week's coverage. Thanks to our producers Will Jones, Adam Bowie and Huw Owen. Also to Simon Gill, to Lionel's mystery researcher and to Alasdair Lloyd-Jones and the social media team. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com  For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by NordVPN. Get up to 73% off a two-year plan: go to NordVPN.com/TCP

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside… For the second day in a row the Women's Tour finished beside the sea, this time in Clacton and for the second day in a row Lorena Wiebes won the stage. Join Rose Manley, Lionel Birnie and Lizzy Banks on the sea front as they recap the stage. We hear from Mark Cavendish, who stopped to watch the race yesterday and was at the finish today. Lizzy heads out on her bike to give the lowdown on the course, we hear post-race reaction from Wiebes and her Team DSM teammate Pfeiffer Georgi. Plus there's Hayley Simmonds, who earned the biggest lead over the peloton so far this week, from Chloe Hosking about Trek-Segafredo's search for a stage win and focus on a couple of the riders who have had difficult days in the race. There's a discussion about what constitutes a podium finish and – Clacton Klaxon – some fascinating facts about Clacton. The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com  For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

It's another packed podcast from the Women's Tour. Join Rose Manley, Lionel Birnie and Lizzy Banks at the famous Rossi's ice cream parlour on the seafront in Southend-on-Sea as they recap stage four. The stage was won by Lorena Wiebes of Team DSM and we hear her finish line reaction and get the thoughts of sports director Albert Timmer. Lizzy checked out the course, we hear reaction from the riders after a fast, furious run-in, and in the final part we ask race director Mick Bennett why there is no live coverage of the race – something that is a World Tour requirement. Lizzy also gives her thoughts on the fact fans cannot watch the race as it unfolds. Finally, we learn about Southend and a debate rages about ice cream flavours. The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com  For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also sponsored by the Hammerhead Karoo 2. For a limited time only get a free Hammerhead heart-rate monitor with the purchase of a Karoo 2. Go to hammerhead.io and use the promo code CYCLE at check-out.

So, this is it, my final race as a professional cyclist. When I announced I'd be retiring at the end of this season I didn't know what my last race would be, but then fate stepped in. Paris-Roubaix – a race I've truly loved over the years, was rescheduled from its usual April spot to an end-of-season Sunday in October. It seemed fitting to ride this brutal race to close my career. It's been quite a journey to get here, especially after fracturing my elbow in a crash at the Benelux Tour in early September. With so many high-calibre Classics riders in our team I wasn't guaranteed a start. It was touch-and-go whether I'd be on the start line in Compiègne for the Hell of the North and there were even moments in my final preparation race when I had my doubts. This episode tells the story of my final week as a professional cyclist. Join me along the way as I get ready for the race with my current teammates – Tom Scully, Michael Valgren and Stefan Bisseger, catch up with some of my best friends in the peloton, Bert de Backer, Luke Durbridge, Sam Bewley, Jack Bauer and Mathew Hayman, followed by the aftermath of one of the legendary wet editions of Paris-Roubaix. I've always said I wanted to do at least one wet Paris-Roubaix before I retired but as the rain fell on the morning of the race and everyone retreated into their own thoughts I began to have second thoughts. I won't spoil how the race turned out – you'll have to listen for that – but as one of my old teammates said, very few people in sport get to bow out with a fairytale finish. Having said that, the way my Paris-Roubaix ended turned out to be the perfect send-off. I've loved my professional career but I've learned this year that when it's time, you know it's time. I hope you enjoy this episode – thank you for all the support whether you were there cheering in the rain or watching at home. If you want to get your hands on a Final Sunday in Hell cap as a memento check out my Etsy store in the links below on Friday. Cheers, Mitch Life in the Peloton playlist Keep in touch with Life in the Peloton Keep up to date with everything that's going on with Life in the Peloton at my website lifeinthepeloton.com Life in the Peloton shop Check out my range of Life in the Peloton merchandise on our Etsy store too, from beanies and caps to embroidered tees, logo tees and much more. Visit the Etsy store. Or follow on social media: Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton Twitter: @lifeinthepelo Theme music The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4's coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show. Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete's widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton.

The Women's Tour had the first time trial stage in its eight-year history as the riders tackled a 16.6-kilometre circuit round Atherstone. But this was about as far from the traditional out-and-back British 10-mile time trial as you could get. Join Rose Manley, Lionel Birnie and Lizzy Banks in the New Swan in Atherstone as they recap a stage that has turned the race on its head – and possibly put the leader's jersey out of the reach of all the riders. Hear how the time trial unfolded with our focus on the riders who sat in the hot seat – or the giant deckchair of destiny – over the course of the afternoon. We spoke to the riders who led the time trial and to Demi Vollering, who won the stage and took what could be an unassailable lead overall. Lizzy was out on the course checking out the technical aspects of a demanding course and we hear from Clara Copponi, who put up a spirited defence of the race lead she took yesterday. We also hear from World Hour record breaker Jos Lowden, Women's Tour ever-present Leah Kirchmann and Lionel finds out about the Atherstone ball game. The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

Join Rose Manley, Lionel Birnie and Lizzy Banks as they recap stage two of the Women's Tour, which tackled ten climbs on a tough circuit in grim weather. A break of 10 riders got clear to deny a second bunch sprint and at the finish we saw Amy Pieters of SD Worx win her fourth Women's Tour stage, while Clara Copponi of France took the race lead from Marta Bastianelli. In this episode, we hear from Pfeiffer Georgi and Juliette Labous of Team DSM, who were both in the break, Pieters' teammate Demi Vollering and new queen of the mountains Elise Chabbey. Lionel investigates the link between Walsall and Brooks saddles and in the final part there's an exclusive interview by Orla Chennaoui with Olympic silver medallist Elinor Barker, who shared some big news today… The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

Join Rose Manley, Lionel Birnie and Lizzy Banks as our nightly coverage of The Women's Tour kicks off following the opening stage to Banbury. Hear from Sophie Wright, teammate of stage winner Marta Bastianelli, and Anna Christian, who launched one of the most persistent attacks of the opening stage. Plus there's Lizzie Deignan, who lines up as defending champion and newly-crowned Paris-Roubaix winner, Christine Majerus, Amy Pieters and Elisa Longo Borghini. Lizzy outlines what we can expect to see over the coming five days after a number of potential winners were ruled out. Will this be a race won by the sprinter who can time trial best or can someone gain enough time against the clock to hold off the time bonus chasers? We also ask what the impact of a brutal debut edition of Paris-Roubaix may have on the six-day stage race. Plus, we discuss Banbury Cakes and ask what the nursery rhyme is all about. The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported LinkedIn Jobs. To post a job ad for free and find the right candidate for your company go to LinkedIn.com/cycle

In this feature length episode from Paris-Roubaix Richard Moore and Lionel Birnie take us on a journey from Compiègne to Roubaix via some of the famous cobbles. From Saturday's first ever women's race we report from the first sector of pavé and hear from riders including Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Marlen Reusser and Lisa Brennauer. From Sunday's men's race we hear from Mitch Docker, riding his last race as a professional, and Florian Vermeersch, the revelation of the race who finished second in the Roubaix Velodrome. And we also speak to Roger Hammond and Tim Harris, Bahrain Victorious sports directors of the winner, Sonny Colbrelli, as well as his teammate Fred Wright. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Curators of Craft. If you would like to try some Curators of Craft beer, go to CuratorsofCraft.co.uk. With the discount code Roubaix15 you can get 15% off all orders over £40 and free UK mainland delivery on all orders over £60. 

Orla Chennaoui, Rose Manley and Richard Moore look back at the world road race championships in Flanders and ahead to the first ever women's Paris-Roubaix. We hear from Elisa Longo Borghini, who led her Italian teammate Elisa Balsamo out to victory in Flanders, and from the British riders Lizzie Deignan and Anna Henderson. There are also interviews with two riders who were retiring after the road race: Ruth Winder and Anna van der Breggen, who exits with her legacy secured as one of the all-time greats. And we hear from the chief executive of Flanders Classics, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, about his vision for women's racing in Flanders. The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is supported by Babbel, the fun and effective way of learning a new language, using bite-sized lessons to teach you words and phrases that you will actually use in the real world. Right now, Babbel is offering our listeners six months free with a purchase of a 6-month subscription. Go to Babbel.com/play and enter the promo code CYCLING. 

In this week's episode we dissect a thrilling men's road race at the world championships in Flanders: a race hailed by some as the greatest world championship road race in history, played out in front of a crowd estimated at a million. We hear from some of the riders who contributed to the drama and excitement: Belgium's Yves Lampaert, Neilson Powless of the USA, Tom Pidcock of Great Britain and Remi Cavagna, a French teammate of the winner, Julian Alaphilippe. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by NordVPN. Get up to 73% off a two-year plan: go to NordVPN.com/TCP

It's hill-climb season once again in the UK. In this episode Tom Whalley and Lizzy Banks discuss what could be the UK's steepest climb. Could it even be the steepest climb in the world? Simon Warren, author of 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, and Ben Lowe, the creator of Veloviewer, talk us through their attempts to climb and measure the gradiant of Bamford Clough. Lizzy also speaks to Rebecca Richardson, one of the UK's top hill-climbers, about the balancing act of life and how she still manages to get to the top. Lizzy and Rebecca take on Winnats Pass where the national hill climb championships will take place on October 31. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Calm, the mental wellness app. Get 40% off a premium subscription by going to calm.com/cycle And by LinkedIn Jobs. Recruit the right person for your organisation. Go to linkedin.com/cycle

My guest on Life in the Peloton this week is one of the most experience riders in the women's peloton, Hannah Barnes. After turning pro with United Healthcare in 2014, Hannah has ridden for Canyon-SRAM for the past six seasons and is set to move on to the new Uno-X team next year. In 2015 she won a stage of the Women's Tour in 2015. She's also a Giro stage winner and has finished top six in both Gent-Wevelgem and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. It was great to speak to Hannah about her career, life in the women's peloton and the ups and downs of being a pro rider. I hope you enjoy listening. Cheers, Mitch Life in the Peloton playlist Keep in touch with Life in the Peloton Keep up to date with everything that's going on with Life in the Peloton at my website lifeinthepeloton.com Life in the Peloton shop Check out my range of Life in the Peloton merchandise on our Etsy store too, from beanies and caps to embroidered tees, logo tees and much more. Visit the Etsy store. Or follow on social media: Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton Twitter: @lifeinthepelo Theme music The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4's coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show. Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete's widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton. This episode is sponsored by Babbel. If you'd like to learn another language Babbel is the app for you. Get six months extra free when you sign up for six months with the code CYCLING

In the first of two episodes of The Cycling Podcast Féminin this month, Rose Manley, Orla Chennaoui and Richard Moore, in Bruges for the UCI world championships, look back on Monday's time trial, won by Ellen van Dijk, and ahead to the road race at the weekend. We hear from the time trial silver medallist Marlen Reusser as well as from Leah Thomas and Joss Lowden.  The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. This episode is sponsored by Noom, the psychology-based approach to getting people on track to eating healthier. Sign up for a trial and get psychology-based support to lose the weight for good at noom.com/cycle 

Richard Moore is in Bruges for the World Championship time trials and he checks in with Lionel Birnie to discuss Sunday's elite men's race. It was a neck-and-neck battle between defending champion Filippo Ganna and home favourite Wout van Aert. We hear from four-time world champion Tony Martin, who confirmed his intention to retire after this week's races, from Ireland's Marcus Christie, whose story we featured in a Friends of the Podcast episode earlier this year, and from Dan Bigham. Looking ahead to Sunday's men's road race we speak to Kasper Asgreen about the star-studded Danish team and wonder how they will take on the Belgians and Italians and from Tim Declercq, who was born in Leuven, about racing a World Championships in his home town. Finally, following the tragic death of Danish rider Chris Anker Sorensen, a former Giro d'Italia stage winner who in retirement became an integral part of Danish TV's Tour de France coverage, his friend and colleague Brian Nygaard pays tribute. Coming later this week are an episode of The Cycling Podcast Féminin, Mitch Docker meets Hannah Barnes in Life in the Peloton and Service Course returns too. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported by Curators of Craft, a company set up by cycling fans Kate and Graeme who pride themselves on discovering some of the best beers independent brewers have to offer. To get 15% off all orders over £40 and free UK mainland delivery on all orders over £60 use the code WORLDS15 

In this episode of The Cycling Podcast, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss the Tour of Britain, the European Championships and some of the latest transfers in the World Tour. Lionel reports back on his stint at the Tour of Britain, celebrates the Classic-esque quality of the Great Orme, and asks if there's a way to Wout van Aert-proof a week-long stage race. Plus we hear from Dan Martin, who announced his retirement on the eve of the race, and look back at his legacy of grand tour stage wins and Monument victories. We also discuss the European Championships, won in impressive fashion by Sonny Colbrelli. Where does that put the Italian on the list of favourites for the World Championships next month? And what does his second-place finish say about Remco Evenepoel? Finally, we talk about Miguel Angel Lopez and weigh up the likelihood of the Colombian switching back Astana after his remarkable withdrawal from the Vuelta a España as a podium place slipped away from him on the penultimate day. Friends of the Podcast: listen out for Lionel's Tour of Britain episode (which currently does not have the working title Notes from a Small Island). It will be released next month, after the conclusion of the World Tour season. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is also supported by LinkedIn Jobs. To find the perfect person for your organisation advertise to more than 30 million professionals in the UK at linkedin.com/cycle

In this episode Tom Whalley virtually heads off to Eurobike for a catch up with friends of the podcast, New Motion Labs, about the launch of their new Enduo chain. Lizzy Banks immerses herself in the world of ultra-endurance racing as she follows the riders at All Points North as they take on a 1,000-kilometre ride around the north of England. A weekend of dotwatching prefaced a nailbiting run in to Sheffield for the 1,000-kilometre sprint between the first two riders. Finally, Tom and Lizzy look back at the Paralympic and Olympic games and speak to Italian track rider Martina Alzini about that team pursuit final and what's next for the Italian women's team. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

Life in the Peloton is back after the Vuelta a España and for this episode I spoke to two young Kiwi champions who are going to have very big futures. If you don't know the name Fisher-Black yet, I reckon you're going to hear it a lot in the coming months and years. Niamh and Finn Fisher-Black are brother and sister who are both racing at World Tour level. Niamh is 21 and in her first year with the SD Worx team after a couple of seasons with Bigla Pro Cycling. This season she was ninth overall at the Giro and won the best young rider classification. Her younger brother Finn is still only 19 and he started the season with the Jumbo-Visma development team. As you'll hear, he was starting to be integrated in the senior Jumbo-Visma team and he rode the Baloise Belgium Tour for them in June, finishing fourth overall in a race won by Remco Evenepoel. That turned out to be his final race for Jumbo-Visma because in July he made a mid-season switch to UAE-Team Emirates. I wanted to find out more about Niamh and Finn and listening to them speak about their journeys into the pro ranks from New Zealand reminded me of the commitment it takes to move to the other side of the road and try to make it in the sport. Cheers, Mitch Life in the Peloton playlist Keep in touch with Life in the Peloton Keep up to date with everything that's going on with Life in the Peloton at my website lifeinthepeloton.com Life in the Peloton shop Check out my range of Life in the Peloton merchandise on our Etsy store too, from beanies and caps to embroidered tees, logo tees and much more. Visit the Etsy store. Or follow on social media: Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton Twitter: @lifeinthepelo Theme music The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4's coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show. Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete's widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton.

In our final episode of Kilometre 0 from the Vuelta a España we hear for the last time from our three audio diarists, James Knox of Deceuninck-Quickstep, Pavel Sivakov of Ineos Grenadiers and Joan Bou of Euskaltel-Euskadi. While Sivakov finished the Vuelta in good shape, and able, he said, to carry on for another week, for Knox and Bou the final week was about survival. Bou crashed heavily and, having been in several breakaways in the first two weeks, he was reduced in the last stages to merely hoping to finish with the gruppetto. With characteristic candour, Knox admits that he is struggling for motivation as the Vuelta draws to a close. He appreciates the places and the sights, and can reflect with satisfaction on his team's four stage wins, but wrestles with his own feelings of fatigue and low morale.  Kilometre 0 by The Cycling Podcast, powered by Supersapiens: fuel management for committed athletes and coaches. For more information go to Supersapiens.com

The Vuelta a España completed its three week pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela with Primoz Roglic the winner, and The Cycling Podcast was there to witness it. The theme of this final episode from the Vuelta is pilgrims and we tell the story of the 2021 race in six parts, including the Movistar story – with an update on Miguel Angel Lopez's sensational withdrawal on the penultimate stage – Roglic, Jack Haig, Fabio Jakobsen and Egan Bernal. We hear from some of the thousands who make the pilgrimage to this city, as well as riders including Bernal, Haig, Jakobsen, Joe Dombrowski and Scott Thwaites. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

The penultimate stage of the 2021 Vuelta a España served up a feast of exciting and dramatic racing and The Cycling Podcast was there to see it. In this episode we hear from two of the day's winners, Jack Haig and Gino Mader of the Bahrain Victorious team, while Patxi Vila and Enric Mas of Movistar reflect on the shocking withdrawal of a rider who started the day sitting third overall, "Superman" Miguel Ángel López. Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe discuss Ineos Grenadier's disruptive tactics and Bahrain's decisiveness in taking advantage of the disruption. And we toast the day's unlikely stage winner, Clément Champoussin of the French Ag2r team. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

There was another humdinger of a stage at the Vuelta a España and The Cycling Podcast was on the ground in Monforte de Lemos to speak to Lawson Craddock, who helped set up his teammate, Magnus Cort, for the win, as well as their sports director, Juanma Garate. We also hear from the second- and third-placed riders, Rui Oliveira and Quinn Simmons. And we consider the different plights and fortunes of two teams, DSM and Bike Exchange, and hear from Nick Schultz of the latter. We also get to the bottom of double stage winner Michael Storer's Scottish connection, and meet a man riding his 15th grand tour – a record for a Japanese cyclist – Yukiya Arashiro. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout. This episode is sponsored by Calm, the #1 mental wellness app, to give you the tools that improve the way you feel. If you go to calm.com/CYCLE), you'll get a limited time offer of 40% off a Calm Premium Subscription, which includes hundreds of hours of programming.

For two riders at the Vuelta a España the journey from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela represents something much bigger than a three-week Grand Tour. A year ago the Bora-Hansgrohe pair, Anton Palzer and Ben Zwiehoff, were both pro sportsmen but in completely different disciplines and indeed Palzer had never participated in a bike race. In this episode of Kilometre 0, we find out how they got here, how they've survived the mountains and above all the plains, and wonder what their respective futures may hold. Kilometre 0 by The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens: energy management for committed athletes and coaches. See Supersapiens.com

The Vuelta a España tackled a new mountain, Alto d'El Gamoniteiru, at the end of stage 18 and Daniel Friebe and Richard Moore were at the summit to witness the riders coming across the line. In this episode we hear from Gino Mader, who had an important role looking after his team leader, Jack Haig, while also cementing his own position in the top ten on general classification. We hear from Haig, too, as well as the overall leader, Primoz Roglic. At the other end of the race, Matt Holmes crossed the line alone and over 48 minutes down, outside the time limit and out of the race. We hear from Holmes at the start of the stage, where he talks about being unwell and his daily battle just to stay in the Vuelta. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

It was arguably the performance of his career. Primoz Roglic won the seventeenth stage of the Vuelta a España to take a commanding overall lead into the final few days of the Spanish tour, and The Cycling Podcast was roadside to witness it. We hear from some of the fans – from Spain and Slovenia – as well as the atmosphere of the roadside experience as Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe watch and analyse a defining stage. Although Roglic was the winner, Egan Bernal was the other protagonist and the rider who lit the touchpaper – we hear from him and from Roglic in this episode. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

The Vuelta a España resumed after the second rest day in Cantabria in the north of Spain with a final stage for the sprinters, won by the man in the green jersey, Fabio Jakobsen. In tonight's episode we hear from Jakobsen's leadout man, Bert Van Lerberghe, and from Joe Dombrowski, whose team tried to distance Jakobsen on a climb. We look ahead to Wednesday's crucial stage to Lagos de Covadonga, one of the Vuelta's iconic climbs, with Alberto Contador, Robert Gesink, David de la Cruz, Ion Izagirre and Luis Ángel Maté. And we meet Florian Vermeersch, who, as well as studying for a history degree at university is riding the Vuelta for Lotto-Soudal. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.